Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Me as the Octopus

Over the past two years as I have been working on my real estate project, I find myself acting as an octopus. By this I mean that I am in the center coordinating and coercing engineers, contractors, City officials and others in an effort to create the new commercial development.

I spend most of my time calling, leaving messages and giving instructions to the various parties that are needed in order to get the job done. This can be vexing at times, since people don't always cooperate.

When doing a project of this size, I cannot do it all by myself. In days gone past, I would try to do everything in house. Those days are over. Now I am dependent on other people to get the job done.

The key to working as an octopus is to understand what everyone's role is. This means understanding what they can and cannot do.

I am now more comfortable in my role. I look for how the timing of the different pieces fit together and I keep copious notes on every conversation and communication. I am up front with someone if they don't respond quickly enough and I drive the work flow toward the goal.